Asian stock markets are mostly trading lower on Monday following a weak lead from Wall Street where stocks ended on a subdued note last Friday due to lower-than-expected U.S. GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
Some of the markets in the region recovered a bit after a weak start, but tumbled again with investors treading cautiously and taking some profits ahead of quarterly results from top notch companies.
After a slightly weak start and a subsequent recovery, the Australian market faltered with investors treading cautiously ahead of the reporting season.
Consumer staples, financial, information technology and industrial stocks are trading slightly weak, while mining, energy and healthcare stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which declined to 4,270.6, is currently trading at 4,281.6, down 6.8 points from its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 6.9 points at 4,341.6, off the day's low of 4,332.6.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are trading flat, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are down 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are up marginally.
Among top miners, Fortescue Metals and Newcrest Mining are trading modestly higher and BHP Billiton is up marginally, while Rio Tinto is trading in negative territory with a loss of over 1 percent.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy are down 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Oil Search is down nearly 2 percent, while Santos and Caltex Australia are trading higher by 0.6 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.
Perseus Mining is trading stronger by over 5 percent. Paladin Energy, Bluescope Steel, David Jones, Myer Holdings and Alumina are up 2.5 to 4.5 percent.
Resmed, Graincorp, Atlas Iron, Duet Group, Whitehaven Coal, Lynas Corporation, JB Hi-Fi and Westfield Retail Trust are also trading notably higher.
APA Group shares are trading nearly 2.5 percent down. Incitec Pivot, James Hardie Industries, AMP and Goodman Group are down 1.2 to 1.8 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened slightly higher amid hopes of a solution to the Greek debt crisis. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$1.0646, up 0.3 percent from Friday's close of US$1.0612.
The Japanese market also drifted lower in morning trades with key stocks from automobile, financial, pulp & paper and shipbuilding sections losing ground on selling pressure. Retail, pharmaceuticals, insurance and railway stocks opened on a bright note and were mostly trading in positive territory when the morning session ended. Besides weak cues from Wall Street, a stronger yen contributed to the decline in prices.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 54.1 points or 0.6 percent at 8,787.1 at the end of the morning session.
Nippon Electric Glass Co. tumbled 7.3 percent after the company said its net income may fall by more than half.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. lost more than 11 percent. Hino Motors, Mitsubishi Paper, Asahi Glass, Softbank, Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen and Alps Electric were trading lower by 2 to 3.5 at the break.
Dainippon Sumito, Sony Financial Holdings, Sumco, Komatsu, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Konica Minolta, Pacific Metals, Kobe Steel, and Mitsubishi Materials also traded notably lower.
Shares of Advantest Corp. moved up by over 10 percent after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the financial year 2011.
Mitsubishi Motor, T&D Holdings Inc., MS&AD Insurance, Nomura Holdings, Dai-ichi Life and Tokio Marine gained 2.3 to 3.5 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 76 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 76.75 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea are trading notably lower. Taiwan is up sharply with its benchmark index gaining 2.8 percent, while New Zealand is up marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance over the course of the trading day on Friday as traders digested a report showing somewhat weaker than expected U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing in positive territory. The Nasdaq rose 11.3 points or 0.4 percent to 2,816.6, while the Dow ended down 74.1 points or 0.6 percent at 12,660.5 and the S&P 500 edged down by 2.1 points or 0.2 percent to 1,316.3.
Major European markets ended weak on Friday. While the German DAX index lost 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 drifted down by 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices ended modestly lower on Friday on a weak dollar and a slower than expected growth of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter. Light sweet crude for March delivery dipped $0.14 or 0.1 percent to settle at $99.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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